In freight transportation it is often desirable to stack cargo in multiple levels to take full advantage of the available height of containers such as truck trailers, aircraft, railroad cars, and other similar cargo containers. To facilitate this process it is common practice to employ removable decking beams capable of supporting the weight of heavy payloads.
Typically such decking beams are adjustable, allowing them to be repositioned within a cargo container at various heights and horizontal intervals, depending on the size and nature of the cargo.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical cargo beam and decking system in accordance with the prior art. FIG. 1 is a cut-away perspective view of a truck trailer containing two rows and stacks of cargo pallets. As shown, a series of vertical mounting tracks 10 line the walls along the length of the cargo container. Each of the mounting tracks 10 includes a series of openings for adjusting the height of the decking beams. In the present example four decking beams 20 span the width of the trailer, providing support for the top layer of cargo pallets 30.
FIG. 2 is a side view of an adjustable decking beam in accordance with the prior art. The beam 40 comprises a central section 50 that is hollow and two adjustable end pieces 60, 70 that are slidably disposed within the ends of the beam. Each end piece further comprises a “foot” 65, 75 that can be slidably disposed along the vertical mounting tracks shown in FIG. 1.
The feet have trigger, locking mechanisms 80 that engage and disengage with the openings in the mounting tracks, thereby allowing the beams to be locked into place at different heights, according to the needs of the user.
Most current models support the beam with two outside pieces with the trigger mechanism enclosed in the middle. However, once the outside pieces are bent, the enclosed trigger mechanism becomes inoperative, and the beam is out of service. Similarly, some prior art designs use outside trigger mechanisms, which encounter the same problem. They are easily bent, putting the whole beam out of service.
Therefore, there is a need in the freight industry for a more robust decking beam system that is more resilient to damage from the often rough conditions of loading and unloading heavy cargo.